One!

This is my first blog post, so I suppose I should introduce myself. I am a 17-year-old girl from Lisbon, Portugal, though I'm moving to Oxford in a few months to start an undergraduate degree in Maths and Philosophy there (why did I have to say this straight away? I'm just too damn excited, that's why :) ). I started this blog because I felt an indefinite yearning to communicate and think more/in a more structured way. Basically, I want to write about things I find interesting and share them with whoever cares to read my ramblings. Comments are more than welcome! :)

Amongst the things I like and hope to post about here are:

Books

I have always loved books. As you can see from the picture on the left, I have plenty of them (you can also see I'm not the neatest person on the planet). Even before I knew how to read, I remember spending quite a lot of time listening to my parents reading to me, puzzling over the meaning of words (which were, of course, just strange marks on paper: isn't it amazing how we are able to assign meaning to sounds and graphical marks?) and inventing my own stories based on the pictures. Then, when I already knew how to read, I stumbled upon the Harry Potter books and fell for that whole imaginary universe (like so many other people). This obsession spread to reading in general - so much that I was once in a while forbidden to read! (How geeky is that?)

I try to read all sorts of books: classic and contemporary romances and novels, short stories, fantasy, poetry, pop science, biographies, memoirs, history, comics, children and young adult novels... You'll get to know my tastes in detail, because I'll definitely write quite a bit about books.

Music

Just like (almost) everyone, listening to music is very important for me to keep my mental stability and to feel connected to others - there's always a song for the way I feel. The name of this blog is a play on the title of Nick Drake's second album, and I chose it both because he's one of my favourite artists and because I just really like the sound of  the words - ethereal and filled with longing, just like Nick's music. This is his song Riverman - isn't it just beautiful?

Cinema

When I was 12 or so, I had a blog where I posted film reviews, though I eventually grew tired of it. I have to say I'm not nearly as much of a cinephile as I used to be back then, when I even entertained the fantasy of becoming a film director, but I still like watching films and find myself challenged to perceive the world in new ways and to connect more deeply with other people's experiences through cinema.

A screenshot from Splendor in the Grass,
just because I like it.

Philosophy/Maths/Science

After writing about my more or less socially acceptable interests, I have to mention that I really enjoy learning mathematics, thinking about philosophical problems and engaging with scientific ideas, particularly in the areas of physics and neuroscience, though I have to admit I know much less than I would like to. Nevertheless, I would say that the type of thinking involved in these areas is at the core of how I interpret the world (I hope that doesn't sound pretentious or too much like a personal statement). 

Politics and Society

Be warned: I'm a liberal on the red side of the political spectrum. I enjoy discussing politics and social issues, particularly related to education, which I believe (like so many others...) to be very important if we want to build a different society, one where there actually is equality between people, and therefore all are granted freedom to fulfill themselves personally and as members of humanity. I hope to be able to participate in the project of building that world throughout my life.

Then, I have a bourgeois side: I like nice and pretty things (scenic views, good-looking people, clothes, cooking, etcetera). 

I hope to write often and about different things, and I also hope that you enjoy reading!

Xx